Re-threading a CRT socket

[Tom_Ryan]

Originally Posted by jpdylon

Now that you've cleaned up the socket, you will want to do the same to the crt so the two will meet cleanly.

Using a wire brush (and or your fingernail) clean off any remaining glue crap that may be on the CRT nect. Some fine sandpaper works for the baked on stuff, just make sure not to scuff up the glass. Wipe everything clean with some ipa and a cloth.

I must stress here NOT TO USE HARD OBJECTS. using things like a screw driver to ship away at the junk on the crt neck is only asking for disaster. One slip can send glass flying in your face, and you looking for medical treatment as well as a new CRT to replace the one you just destoryed.

After cleaning the glass, I would recomend using some fine sandpaper (~300 grit) and gently clean off the wires. Apply light pressure to softly pinch the wire between sandpaper in your fingers (as seen in the pic.) gently pull back a few times to clean off any corrosion on the wires. DO NOT TWIST OR PUSH.

If one of the wires has broken of, carefully wrap a thin piece of 28 to 30 guage wire around the remaining existing wire, and solder it in place. You want the new wire to stick out to make the total length the same as the existing wires.

After this we are nearly ready to put the socket back on.

....woooooah doggy...just a ding dang minute!

It's also good to remember that the kovar wires that emerge from the glass base of a CRT neck are fragile and there is a good possibility that the seal on wires or even the glass nipple could be damaged.

It's tedious work to reassemble a CRT base. You've done a bang up jog describing the procedure in your threads BUT ...I highly recommend one additional life saving step. For good peace of mind apply a bit of modern technology to these tubes. It's called VacSeal.

"Vacseal® is a silicone based liquid resin system developed primarily for sealing leaks in high and UHV systems. Vacseal® will seal leaks as large as 4 micron liters per second on systems under evacuation." Ref: http://www.2spi.com/catalog/vac/vacleak.shtml

Guys 'n Gals I always used this stuff on CRTs for years and have saved many tubes from taking a one-way trip to the landfill. Small cracks are hard to see. No need to take chances. Best part is that VacSeal remains elastic and continues to flow and cure into tiny microcracks around the tube base after reassembly.

Tom


...now if only one of you guys would just take a real hard look at your junk boxes and come up with a CTC-121 CRT socket for my (not so young ...maybe possible modern) Colortack 2000. Make my day!